Parliamentary Law

Motion to Postpone Indefinitely.—The motion to postpone in definitely provides for final adverse disposition for the session and amounts to summary rejection. It is debatable and opens to debate the question to which applied but is subject to no sub sidiary motion except the motion for the previous question.

Incidental Motions.

Incidental motions include questions arising incidentally in the consideration of other questions and decided before disposition of the one to which they are inci dent. They have no relative rank and merely take precedence of the pending question in the consideration of which they have arisen. All are undebatable with the exception of appeal. They comprise motions to suspend the rules, withdraw motions, read papers, raise the question of consideration, questions of order and appeal, reconsider, take up out of order, determine method of procedure, divide pending questions and questions relating to nominations.

The motion temporarily to suspend the rules may not be debated or reconsidered and is not subject to the application of any subsidiary motion. The vote required to pass the motion is ordinarily fixed by the rules of the assembly and in the absence of such provision is two-thirds of those present and voting.

Withdrawal or modification of a motion after it has been "stated" by the presiding officer is usually effected by unani mous consent but in event of objection by any member must be submitted to the assembly. Consent of the seconder is not re quired but if modified the seconder may withdraw the second. When applied to the main motion it includes all adhering motions, but when applied to amendments or adhering motions the main question is not affected. The reading of papers on which a vote is to be taken may be demanded by any member as a matter of right. Papers on which a vote is not required are usually read by unanimous consent but if objection is made the question must be submitted to the assembly.

The question of whether the assembly desires to take up a proposition regularly presented for its consideration may be tested by raising the question of consideration, which may be moved at any time before actual consideration commences and does not require a second. It is not in order after debate begins or after a subsidiary motion has been applied. When the ques tion is properly raised the assembly may by a two-thirds adverse vote decline to take up any business it prefers not to consider.

Points of Order

may be made while another has the floor, and when the question concerns the use of unparliamentary language the member so called to order must be seated pending disposition of the matter. The question must be raised at the time the pro ceeding giving rise to the objection occurs and will not be enter tained after the assembly has passed to other business. If the point of order is overruled the member resumes the floor but if the objection is sustained he may proceed only by consent of the assembly. Debate on questions of order is for the information of the chair and may be closed by the presiding officer at any time. Any member may appeal from a decision by the chair and such appeal is debatable unless arising out of an undebatable question.

The motion to reconsider must be made by one who voted with the prevailing side but may be seconded by any member. It is only in order on the day or the next calendar day after the vote proposed to be reconsidered is taken. The motion is of the high est privilege and may be entered for record on the minutes while another has the floor, but can not be called up for consideration until the pending question is disposed of, when it takes precedence of all new business. If applied to a debatable question it reopens the entire subject to debate. The motion may not be amended, committed or indefinitely postponed and requires a majority vote for passage. If agreed to, the motion reopens the entire ques tion for further action as if there had been no final decision. The motion to take up out of order is merely another form of the motion to suspend the rules and requires a two-thirds vote for enactment. It is not amendable and debate is limited to the specific question presented.

A motion to divide the question is in order where the pending question includes propositions so distinct that, one being taken away, a substantive proposition will remain. Such motions are applicable to main questions and their amendments only and no subsidiary motion except the motion to amend is admitted. The rules of the U.S. House of Representatives provide that any mem ber may demand the division of a question as a matter of right, but under general parliamentary procedure the question must be submitted to the vote of the assembly.